I think there is really a question of where we expect or want our children (or next generations) to be.

Many are looking at this under the assumption that the future generation will never leave Janesville, or interact with anyone from outside of Janesville. Others are looking at this from a Global job market perspective.

There are definitely some over-achievers here that would like to see us keep our third-world education standards. But those people should also understand that unskilled labor positions aren't in quite as much demand in the US as they were 30 years ago - and the beloved GM factory is leaving us in a couple years. Just because some of us didn’t need or never use some of our previous education shouldn’t mean we should further limit future generations.

I do believe the bar should be set a bit higher; or at least take it off the ground. Developed countries (Japan, Germany, etc.) and developing countries (India, China) seem to have a greater respect and strive for education than here in the US. There are larger and larger numbers of people in the developing countries who are multilingual, with high educational qualifications, who will do most of our jobs at a fraction of the salary.

I do believe it is worth trying to invest in making future generations a bit more valuable on the global job market. I don’t mean to be so abrasive, but the same people who probably think of the US as some sort of world-leader are generally oblivious to the fact that we are usually anything but.

This is not just a Janesville issue, it is country wide. I would just like to see us take a lead the way someday, rather than catch on and follow 20 years after everyone else.

Chinese, Japanese and East Indian are now a big part of the global economy. As such, the ability to have people who speak/write those languages as gone up. They should be offered as easily as the other foreign language programs are.

I say you eliminate all foreign language. If kids learn English these days, its an accomplishment.

NVgrf:
Aren’t mathematical equations also known as expressions? When one is fluent, one expresses himself well does he not? In your haste to expose my ignorance you expose your own. Well done!
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xcatch:
You will find that if you look at NVgrf’s archive, he specializes in cheap shots and self-aggrandizement. He wasn’t really trying to add anything constructive.

NVgrf: "How does one become "fluent" in math?"

How about by learning (at minimum) how to make change without using a cash register? Or maybe being able to complete reasonably simple addition without needing to count on your fingers?

These are two things that were lacking in recent interaction I've had with sales people in the Janesville area...

For two summers we had a french exchange student live with us for 3 weeks each summer. He was fluent in English, as well as, Spanish. He was leaning Russian and a couple other languages as requirements in school. BUT - he attends a private school. Janesville is struggling to make ends meet so we add 4-yr kindergarten and hire more teachers to teach Chinese? What about adding Japanese and Portuguese to the list. We can pay those costs with the tax money we won't get when GM/Lear/LSI leave Janesville.

Some of you get it! How much necessary stuff is going to be pushed out of our kid's brains by this senseless filler-learning?

I said enough on the main page of this article. We don't need to add to our children's curiculum. At least not like this. Our kids need real skills, not an assimilation act that gets them nowhere in any practical sense. A student can learn this stuff the way they always did in the years past. Learn real knowledgable stuff first!

Hey bill,
How does one become "fluent" in math?

Perhaps the school board wishes to cut out some of the senseless programs, and endless expansion of administrative paper pushers. That would be the logical 1st step in making any cuts.

Forget Chinese....make Spanish mandatory so managers can speak to their employees!

Okay..someone explain please why there's even any talk about expanding anything when the school board is looking to make cuts....

The fact is that the children are taught English every day of every year in school yet so many graduate as barely functionally literate. The same is true of mathematics as so many who graduate need a calculator to do the simplest computations correctly.
Our public schools are saddled with an abundance of under-motivated students, some of whom are incorrigible. Yet the schools are reluctant to segregate the under-achievers from the interested students due to a concern for the self-esteem of the disinterested students. Even the incorrigible students who ruin the opportunities of others are only reluctantly removed from schools.
Students that are fluent in English, math, science, history and civics with exposure to philosophy, religion and literature, without indoctrination, will excel in whatever field of endeavor they choose. These subjects should be the focus of public schools efforts and spending.

In the 80's, everyone said we had to teach our children Japanese if they were going to suceed in the business world. How'd that work out?

3children,
You are dead on.
This has nothing to do with being able to communicate with Chinese immigrants in this country. I'm sure many feel as I do, that being if you come to this country you should know how to speak English.
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This has everything to do with working for an employer in the global market place. I know education has become a way of indoctrinating kids with a bunch of progressive/feel good/politically correct nonsense now a days, but it use to actually be about teaching your kids the necessary skills to excel in the work place as adults.
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Sure if you go out to California, you might want to know Spanish, as it's becoming the national language of that state. If you want to actually make $$$, and work for a multi national-fortune 500 company, you learn Chinese. As they are quickly becoming a global heavy weight in this world economy, and any major US based business will have countless dealings with them in commerce/trade.

It is not like we are going to be welcomed into CHINA as a US citizen, so what is the need to learn their language. The chinese, unlike Mexicans, make it a priority to learn English so they are able to communicate with us. And obviously understand what we as a economical nation are doing. Then, when they enter our country, we don't have to spend zillions of dollars to teach them our language. THe difference is, we welcome immigrants, CHINA does not.

Have the Chinese learn English. Its seems the schools have classes for english already

Global economists will tell you that Mandarin Chinese is the language of the future. Drop German and French, if you need to speak with a German company, they already speak English. English has been a mandatory language class in their schools for years. I took 7 years of German and all I can remember is a couple of beer drinkin' songs.

We have know for years that around 2nd grade is the optimal time for a child to learn a second language. Duh duh duh. But let's wait until 7th grade.

ALL languages should be started in the elementary schools. French and German need to be set aside in favor of languages like Chinese and Arabic. All students should be required to be (age appropriately) fluent in English, Spanish and one other language by the end of 6th grade.

I agree with you, Kai. I remember taking French in high school, and the class was held every other day. I am now taking Swahili, and the class is held everyday. Learning a language is extremely difficult, it is not something you can expect to learn effectively if it is approached in an "elective" manner.
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I see a fairly large amount of votes for online classes to learn Chinese. German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Portuguese are all examples of languages that -could- be learned online with only a slightly higher difficulty than in the classroom.
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As I mentioned in the article by Frank Schultz, Chinese is a tonal language. That means that some words which look the same on paper (using an English Alphabet) can have completely different and unrelated meanings depending on the tones used to say them. This would cause enormous problems if someone were to try to learn Chinese online. It is of the utmost importance that when attempting to learn Chinese, you can hear the proper tones and also hear how everyone else is adapting in an attempt to emulate those same tones. It is also important for the instructor to hear how all of the students sound, and in some cases, to see how their mouths are moving to make the sounds.
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I believe that if the school board really, and I mean really wants to implement Chinese in some way, they should start with a sixth grade exploratory course. Chinese is a very difficult language to learn, and the class is rigorous. If sixth graders who are interested are able to be successful in the course, then furthering the exploration would be reasonable. My reason for going with a sixth grade exploratory course is that generally speaking, it is better to begin learning a foreign language at a younger age. That doesn't mean that a Chinese course offered in high school would be inappropriate, though.

I've said it before, and I will say it again:
SIGN LANGUAGE. We need to add sign to the curriculum.

"...so many students that first need to master English before they can be fluent in another language."

Agreed. Too many people are passing out of the Janesville School system with appalling grammar and an overall laziness and disregard for the English language. I see this every day in my own workplace. Horrendous spelling, people who leave out punctuation completely, and a growing epidemic of "text speak" and slang taking the place of proper English in emails.

The school board can hardly expect students to become fluent in a second or third language when their primary language has not been mastered.

Chinese is a WAY more valuable skill to have in the business world then is Spanish. If you apply for for a position at a multi national fortune 500 company, and you know how to speak Chinese, your chances for getting the position just increased 10 fold.

I haven't read anything, anywhere that said learning Chinese would be a REQUIREMENT.

Imagine the bickering over which elementary school would get the program first.

Which is a more formidable economic power...China or Mexico? THAT'S why they're choosing Chinese. If you want to boost your your little nipper's marketable skills to work even remotely within international trade, they should be bi-lingual at the least. With starting them in elementary school, they take to it like ducks to water. Little information sponges that don't know it is "hard" to learn. In Middle school the hormones are kicking in, as well as other distractions. High school..forget about it.

I agree with Irish_Mafia, I also took 5 years in middle and high school of spanish and can not speak it fluently. One of the problems is that in school we are taught Spain (European) spanish and most of our population around here are from Mexico, which has a distinctly different dialect. I work at the university and see so many students that first need to master English before they can be fluent in another language.

Why on earth do kids need to learn chinese? I understand wanting to take other classes, but forcing elementary kids to take chinese is wrong. I would much rather my child was learning Spanish because that is more useful.

If learning a different language is the goal for the School Board... try having total immersion classes by the time the kids reach middle school.

Being forced in middle school to learn a language in order to pass is not going to work. It also didn't help that the language instructor was never available for help. I took three years of Spanish and I am not fluent. I can read a little bit of it and can say a few phrases but if I were asked to conversate, write something or to translate I would be sunk.